Man trapped in WhatsApp Stock Trading group, cheated of Rs 1.22 crore, 6 accused arrested

Hyderabad Cyber ​​Crime Police on Tuesday (June 23) arrested six people from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. These people had committed an investment trading fraud of Rs 1.22 crore by running a complex network of ‘Mule Bank Accounts’. They had trapped a city resident through a fake WhatsApp stock trading group and fraudulent online investment platform. This complex financial scam began in January 2026 when a resident of Hyderabad was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘282 BARCLAYS India High-Quality Stock Trading Research Group’.

The victim was persuaded to invest through fake websites that promised huge returns and IPO allotment. To ensure complete trust, the gang initially allowed the victim to withdraw Rs 1.05 lakh. After being convinced that it was genuine, the victim made a huge investment totaling Rs 1.22 crore through 19 different financial transactions. After this, the fraudsters showed fake profits of Rs 15.69 crore on a fake digital portal and then demanded an additional Rs 35 lakh for issuing the allotted shares.

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money laundering network

DCP V. Arvind Babu said that the accused used to transfer the cyber fraud money by using real business accounts through commission and remote access. During investigation, one YES Bank account was found linked to 26 cases, in which transactions of more than Rs 1.10 crore took place. Whereas the Central Bank account of two accused from Parbhani was linked to 18 cases, through which transactions of more than Rs 3.37 crore were made. The gang used to activate the account by manipulating the OTP and laundered money for the illegal trading platform.

police warning

Inspector Y. Gauri Naidu’s team arrested six accused and recovered three mobiles, four debit cards, two chequebooks, two passbooks and three Airtel SIMs. Police said that do not be afraid of threatening video calls coming from people impersonating CBI or Customs officers, because no government agency asks for digital arrest or money on Skype. If you become a victim of fraud, immediately lodge a complaint on the 1930 helpline or cyber crime portal.

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